Flood Fears Recede

Two Weeks Without Rain Has Let Residents Living Near Water See Their Lawns And Driveways Again.

April 4, 1998|By Maria M. Perotin of The Sentinel Staff

After almost two rainless weeks, many of Central Florida's flood-prone neighborhoods are beginning to recover from the rising waters that have created nuisances for most of this year.

Asphalt is once again visible on roads that last month were impassable. Lawns that had become ponds now are merely soggy. And the few homes that were threatened by the encroaching St. Johns River are out of danger.

The recent dry spell has been a blessing for residents across the region, especially Volusia County's Stone Island where some homes had been protected with sandbags, St. Johns River Water Management District spokesman Bill Graf said Friday.

That neighborhood was hardest hit by the bulging river, but conditions are improving daily as the water level drops slowly.

``We're about where we were after Christmas,'' Graf said. ``It's been delightfully dry.''

The exception may be in Orange County, where several lakes that overflowed into yards and homes have remained high. Some landlocked lakes continue to creep beyond their normal shorelines.

Public Works Director Ajit Lalchandani said water seeping out of saturated ground is filling the lakes.

``We're very grateful we've hit a patch of dry weather in the past two weeks,'' Lalchandani said. But ``there are lakes that are still rising in Orange County. I can't say it's stabilizing.''

In northeast Lake County, the lack of rain has been a relief to Astor residents.

Penny Hanna said the pond in her yard on Alco Road has gone down the past couple of weeks, and she has been able to clean out the ditches around her property.

``We haven't had the rain, and it seems to have helped,'' Hanna said.

Volusia health inspectors this week visited swimming areas in waterfront parks, which have been closed to swimmers for weeks. They are trying to determine if algae are gone from swamped docks and testing water quality before allowing bathers back into lakes, springs and rivers.

Hontoon Island State Park, west of DeLand, again is accepting guests, although its nature trail remains drenched and closed.

Graf is optimistic the favorable trend will continue, despite the guessing game that the El Nino weather phenomenon has made of this winter's weather patterns. Although this is typically Florida's driest season, an onslaught of storms has dumped record amounts of rainfall here since December.

``The weather service is saying that April and May are supposed to be a little closer to normal rainfall,'' Graf said.

``If we get rain, we'll be okay as long as we stay relatively close to normal.''

Stone Island residents are taking advantage of the respite to figure out a permanent fix to the flooding that has plagued the community in the past few years. They've pleaded with officials from the water management district and Volusia County's emergency management staff for help financing improvements.

Frank Meeker, district ombudsman, said he's hoping the island will qualify for grants or loans from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But first, residents must draft a map illustrating the area's drainage problems.